PuneKept as a ‘pet’ in Satara Road housing society, peacock rescued

“It just happened to come to the society a few weeks ago and since then has been here. The society members started feeding it. In our society, only Jain community people are staying and we do not believe in ‘hinsa’ (violence). We were not aware of the laws and our intention was not to harm the bird,” said Jain. On the other hand, Manoj Oswal, secretary of Jeevrakhsa Animal Welfare Trust and animal welfare officer of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), confirmed that he learnt about the case around eight years ago.

He claims that he had informed about the case to the then RFO Sanjay Kadu. However, the forest officials told him that since they did not have space to keep the bird, they were unable to rescue it, claims Oswal. “As per my information, the society found this bird as a peachick eight years ago. At that time, the society members were not even aware that it was a peacock. Later, they built an enclosure for the bird. Till now, it was taken care of well by the society. In the last few months, when the peacock started falling sick frequently, I asked the society members to inform the forest officials and they did,” said Oswal.

As far as the future of the peacock is concerned, though the forest officials have plans to leave it in the wild after a few days, Paranjape stresses that the move will reduce its survival chances. “The animals and birds which have remained in captivity and are used to being fed by humans do not survive when left on their own as they do not know how to find food. In most cases, they starve to death,” argued Paranjape.

Meanwhile, Dr Ankush Dubey, the veterinarian at Katraj Rescue Centre, said that on Saturday, when the bird was brought to the centre, it was severely dehydrated, perhaps due to the excess heat or not being given enough water. It is now doing well with oral medication and feeding. The vet said that generally when any wild animal shows fear for humans, it is a sign that he still has wild instincts and can survive in the wild.

“It will take some time for him to adapt because his environment has changed now. We have kept this peacock with a female peacock so that he develops a bond with her. Being around the same species will make him comfortable. Peacocks are always released in the wild in pair. Whenever he will be ready, we will be informing the Forest Department, which will specify the range where they can be released,” said Dubey. Oswal added that as AWBI animal welfare officer, he will intervene if the decision of leaving the peacock in the wild is taken.